Nicola Lisle talks to Orchestra of St John’s founder John Lubbock about the OSJ Proms

For someone used to conducting in some of the major concert halls of Europe, performing in a museum might seem strange.

But the OSJ’s Proms at the Ashmolean series, now in its fourth season, suits orchestra founder and conductor John Lubbock just fine. “I’ve had this orchestra for 47 years, so I just keep looking for different ways of doing concerts,” he says. “And this fits very well. It’s a lovely acoustic, and a very nice intimate space.”

The series also gives the orchestra an opportunity to explore repertoire they might otherwise never get the chance to play, as John often reduces large-scale works to chamber size. “I do a lot of orchestrating and arranging. It’s amazing how much big music can reduce if you’ve got a nice small room and a beautiful acoustic. And it’s lovely for the players because they love being one to a part. So it’s opened up a whole new repertoire for the orchestra that we couldn’t do in a bit concert hall because it’s too expensive, and the small version is too small for somewhere like St John’s Smith Square. So that’s nice.”

Perhaps more importantly, Proms at the Ashmolean offers a platform for talented young performers — something John is particularly passionate about. “It’s a nice opportunity for them to play with a really wonderful orchestra. That doesn’t come round very often. And the players love it — these youngsters are so fresh and gifted. They’re just starting out, and it’s very nice to be part of that journey.

“We have a thing called the OSJ Young Performers Scheme, and all the soloists I’ve used in previous series have been from this scheme. But a couple in the series this year the whole concert will be youngsters from the Royal Academy of Music, even the orchestra.”

A major innovation this season is the introduction of conducting apprentices, three from the Royal Academy and one from Oxford, and they will be conducting a couple of pieces each in each concert.

“It gives them an opportunity to conduct a professional orchestra, which is very hard to come by,” John explains. “It’s jolly tough for these youngsters. You can’t practise without an orchestra, and an orchestra’s a cumbersome and expensive thing. So it’s a good bit of experience for them.”

The next Proms concert, on April 15, features Handel’s Let the Bright Seraphim, along with music by Bach and Purcell, and includes Christina Gansch (soprano), Darren Moore (trumpet) and conductor Karin Hendrickson.

Future Proms include a jazz and folk concert with the Derek Paravicini Jazz Quartet, an evening of British songs by the likes of Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Ireland and Walton, and the traditional Christmas programme to end the season.

There’s also a new venue on the cards, as John has been invited to perform concerts at the Bodleian when it reopens in 2015. “I don’t want to do it instead of the Ashmolean, so I’ve got to try and find a way of doing both.

“But it’s a bigger room and there’ll be a big buzz when it opens, so it’s quite exciting.”

OSJ Proms at the Ashmolean
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Various dates
For details and tickets, visit: www.osj.org.uk